Several Iranian women have caught people’s attention by revealing the lengths they go to attend a football match.
Donning beards and wigs, they disguised themselves as men so they could watch their team, Persepolis, play rivals Sepidrood at the Azadi stadium in Tehran last Friday.
Images of the women at the stadium have been widely shared on both Persian and English social media.
Although there’s no official ban on women going to sporting events in Iran, it is rare for them to attend as they are often refused entry. Prior to the Islamic revolution of 1979, women were allowed to attend sporting events.
Women have been punished for attending games in the past. In 2014, British-Iranian activist Ghoncheh Ghavami was detained after attempting to watch a men’s volleyball match in Iran. And in March 2018, 35 women were detained for trying to attend a football match.
In February, women were allowed to watch a major basketball game in Tehran – but they had to sit in an area separate from men.